I'm wanting to take up leatherwork but don't really know much about it.
what tools/equipment would you reccomend buying to start out, and what type of leather would be appropriate for general items such as belts, pouches and sheath's.
Ive been looking at shoulders of leather on LeProvo and am I right in thinking you can only buy a full Shoulder?
so any information would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Matt
unfortunately, unless you live on the doorstep, you have to buy larger lumps yes.
I'm fortunate, in that I only live a 20 minute car journey away and can pop in fairly frequently, picking up the odd bargain.
they have had some really nice offcuts of hide lately, around the £15-£35 mark as opposed to paying for full shoulders, i'm almost sure you can buy half shoulders at least.
your best bet is to give them a ring and see what you can sort out.
You can buy belt straps precut, saving you buying a strap cutter ( and learning how to use it!)
Leather working can be an expensive hobby, the raw material is not cheap, although most of the tools are pretty affordable.
So; what do you need to start?
Well, the following is just a basic kit:
a very sharp knife, a stanley knife will do but an XACTO or similar is better
a pack of saddlers, harness needles, size 3 excellent for general med to heavy hide( 25 for £1.50 odd iirc)
25 grams of somac, unwaxed linen thread, 3/18 or similar, a lot of us are using artificial sinew now but thats a step or two on from starters, if only due to price/availability.
A "diamond" awl blade and handle ( get two if your at all heavy handed as they are very brittle and unforgiving
)
a stitch groover; now you can get a fixed one or an adjustable one its up to you but if you get into it you'll find both handy.
a No.6 overstitch wheel-for marking stitch holes in the lines you have already made with the groover.
a small block of beeswax.
if you want to make bag type pouches from thinner soft leathers, a packet of glovers needles would be handy.
other tools that are handy; are a pair of long nose pliers, a small pair of sharp, side cutters or "snips" and a size 2 edge beveller.
You will also need some dye.
don't waste money on things like edge slickers and "safety bevellers"
most important: a copy of " the art of hand sewing leather" by Al Stohlman
What I would suggest is that you price it all up, then price up some veg tan 3 to 3.5mm hide and see what it's going to cost you.
The thing is, if you bought a basic kit similar to above and you decided it wasn't for you after a while, you could almost certainly sell the gear on at not too horrendous a loss.
anyway I hope this is helpful
best wishes
Steve
